There's an incredible amount of momentum behind Google's WebM Project. Opera, Mozilla, and of course Google will all include it in their browsers by default, meaning about 35% of web users will be able to use it with a minimal amount of fuss. On top of that, Microsoft has changed its previously announced plans to make HTML5 video in Internet Explorer 9 H264-only to include VP8 as well. Only Apple's opinion was unclear - until now.

No, it has authorized MPEGLA to represent it with regard to its MPEG patents. That was the question you asked and the one I answered. Hand waving and saying, "Well, well, that don't mean nothing, it's just a patent pool" doesn't change the mechanics and reality of Samsung's involvement in MPEGLA.